Friday, August 16, 2019

Our fourth question was: How shall we
establish trades unions for such tasks and aims (which are commensurate with
the aims and objectives of national Socialism) ? That is far more difficult to
answer.

Generally speaking, it is easier to establish
something in new territory than in old territory which already has its
established institutions. In a district where there is no existing business of
a special character one can easily establish a new business of this character.
But it is more difficult if the same kind of enterprise already exists and it
is most difficult of all when the conditions are such that only one enterprise
of this kind can prosper. For here the promoters of the new enterprise find
themselves confronted not only with the problem of introducing their own
business but also that of how to bring about the destruction of the other business
already existing in the district, so that the new enterprise may be able to
exist.

It would be senseless to have a National
Socialist Trades Union side by side with other trades unions. For this Trades
Union must be thoroughly imbued with a feeling for the ideological nature of
its task and of the resulting obligation not to tolerate other similar or
hostile institutions. It must also insist that itself alone is necessary, to
the exclusion of all the rest. It can come to no arrangement and no compromise
with kindred tendencies but must assert its own absolute and exclusive right.

There were two ways which might lead to such
a development:

(1) We could establish our Trades Union and
then gradually take up the fight against the Marxist International Trades
Union.

(2) Or we could enter the Marxist Trades
Union and inculcate a new spirit in it, with the idea of transforming it into
an instrument in the service of the new ideal.

The first way was not advisable, by reason of
the fact that our financial situation was still the cause of much worry to us
at that time and our resources were quite slender. The effects of the inflation
were steadily spreading and made the particular situation still more difficult
for us, because in those years one could scarcely speak of any material help
which the trades unions could extend to their members. From this point of view,
there was no reason why the individual worker should pay his dues to the union.
Even the Marxist unions then existing were already on the point of collapse
until, as the result of Herr Cuno's enlightened Ruhr policy, millions were
suddenly poured into their coffers. This so-called 'national' Chancellor of the
REICH should go down in history as the Redeemer of the Marxist trades unions.

We could not count on similar financial
facilities. And nobody could be induced to enter a new Trades Union which, on
account of its financial weakness, could not offer him the slightest material
benefit. On the other hand, I felt bound absolutely to guard against the
creation of such an organization which would only be a shelter for shirkers of
the more or less intellectual type.

At that time the question of personnel played
the most important role. I did not have a single man whom I might call upon to
carry out this important task. Whoever could have succeeded at that time in overthrowing
the Marxist unions to make way for the triumph of the National Socialist
corporative idea, which would then take the place of the ruinous class
warfare--such a person would be fit to rank with the very greatest men our
nation has produced and his bust should be installed in the Valhalla at
Regensburg for the admiration of posterity.

But I knew of no person who could qualify for
such a pedestal.

In this connection we must not be led astray
by the fact that the international trades unions are conducted by men of only
mediocre significance, for when those unions were founded there was nothing
else of a similar kind already in existence. To-day the National Socialist Movement
must fight against a monster organization which has existed for a long time,
rests on gigantic foundations and is carefully constructed even in the smallest
details. An assailant must always exercise more intelligence than the defender,
if he is to overthrow the latter. The Marxist trade-unionist citadel may be
governed to-day by mediocre leaders, but it cannot be taken by assault except
through the dauntless energy and genius of a superior leader on the other side.
If such a leader cannot be found it is futile to struggle with Fate and even
more foolish to try to overthrow the existing state of things without being able
to construct a better in its place.

Here one must apply the maxim that in life it
is often better to allow something to go by the board rather than try to half
do it or do it badly, owing to a lack of suitable means.

To this we must add another consideration,
which is not at all of a demagogic character. At that time I had, and I still
have to-day, a firmly rooted conviction that when one is engaged in a great
ideological struggle in the political field it would be a grave mistake to mix
up economic questions with this struggle in its earlier stages. This applies
particularly to our German people. For if such were to happen in their case the
economic struggle would immediately distract the energy necessary for the
political fight. Once the people are brought to believe that they can buy a
little house with their savings they will devote themselves to the task of
increasing their savings and no spare time will be left to them for the
political struggle against those who, in one way or another, will one day
secure possession of the pennies that have been saved. Instead of participating
in the political conflict on behalf of the opinions and convictions which they
have been brought to accept they will now go further with their 'settlement'
idea and in the end they will find themselves for the most part sitting on the ground
amidst all the stools.

To-day the National Socialist Movement is at
the beginning of its struggle. In great part it must first of all shape and
develop its ideals. It must employ every ounce of its energy in the struggle to
have its great ideal accepted, and the success of this effort is not conceivable
unless the combined energies of the movement be entirely at the service of this
struggle.

To-day we have a classical example of how the
active strength of a people becomes paralysed when that people is too much
taken up with purely economic problems.

The Revolution which took place in November
1918 was not made by the trades unions, but it was carried out in spite of
them. And the people of Germany did not wage any political fight for the future
of their country because they thought that the future could be sufficiently secured
by constructive work in the economic field.

We must learn a lesson from this experience,
because in our case the same thing must happen under the same circumstances.
The more the combined strength of our movement is concentrated in the political
struggle, the more confidently may we count on being successful along our whole
front. But if we busy ourselves prematurely with trade unionist problems,
settlement problems, etc., it will be to the disadvantage of our own cause,
taken as a whole. For, though these problems may be important, they cannot be
solved in an adequate manner until we have political power in our hand and are
able to use it in the service of this idea. Until that day comes these problems
can have only a paralysing effect on the movement. And if it takes them up too
soon they will only be a hindrance in the effort to attain its own ideological
aims. It may then easily happen that trade unionist considerations will control
the political direction of the movement, instead of the ideological aims of the
movement directing the way that

the trades unions are to take.

The movement and the nation can derive
advantage from a National Socialist trade unionist organization only if the
latter be so thoroughly inspired by National Socialist ideas that it runs no
danger of falling into step behind the Marxist movement. For a National Socialist
Trades Union which would consider itself only as a competitor against the
Marxist unions would be worse than none. It must declare war against the
Marxist Trades Union, not only as an organization but, above all, as an idea.
It must declare itself hostile to the idea of class and class warfare and, in
place of this, it must declare itself as the defender of the various
occupational and professional interests of the German people.

Considered from all these points of view it
was not then advisable, nor is it yet advisable, to think of founding our own
Trades Union. That seemed clear to me, at least until somebody appeared who was
obviously called by fate to solve this particular problem.

Therefore there remained only two possible
ways. Either to recommend our own party members to leave the trades unions in
which they were enrolled or to remain in them for the moment, with the idea of
causing as much destruction in them as possible.

In general, I recommended the latter
alternative.

Especially in the year 1922-23 we could
easily do that. For, during the period of inflation, the financial advantages
which might be reaped from a trades union organization would be negligible, because
we could expect to enroll only a few members owing to the undeveloped condition
of our movement. The damage which might result from such a policy was all the greater
because its bitterest critics and opponents were to be found among the
followers of the National Socialist Party.

I had already entirely discountenanced all
experiments which were destined from the very beginning to be unsuccessful. I
would have considered it criminal to run the risk of depriving a worker of his scant
earnings in order to help an organization which, according to my inner
conviction, could not promise real advantages to its members.

Should a new political party fade out of
existence one day nobody would be injured thereby and some would have profited,
but none would have a right to complain. For what each individual contributes
to a political movement is given with the idea that it may ultimately come to
nothing. But the man who pays his dues to a trade union has the right to expect
some guarantee in return. If this is not done, then the directors of such a
trade union are swindlers or at least careless people who ought to be brought
to a sense of their responsibilities.

We took all these viewpoints into
consideration before making our decision in 1922. Others thought otherwise and
founded trades unions. They upbraided us for being short-sighted and failing to
see into the future. But it did not take long for these organizations to
disappear and the result was what would have happened in our own case. But the difference
was that we should have deceived neither ourselves nor those who believed in
us.

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Dedication

Dedicated to young Americans-May you benefit from observing how certain shadowy forces contrive to ruthlessly advance their own financial and ideological objectives at your expense. They select, then groom, and ultimately control many of our highest government officials. They plan the wars and through "foreign policy" arrange to set the stage for incidents to initiate hostilities. They overwork the word "Peace" to mislead you and create a plausible smoke screen in order to conceal their real operations. You can recognize who "they" are. Curtis Dall "FDR-My Exploited Father-in-Law".